


Problematic Encounters

by Harley_Quinn24



Category: Orphan Black (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-20
Updated: 2015-07-12
Packaged: 2018-03-18 18:51:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3580182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Harley_Quinn24/pseuds/Harley_Quinn24
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>No clones, best friends AU. It’s Alison’s engagement party and everyone has been invited. The evening is going beautifully until Cosima walks in and introduces the group to her date… Elizabeth Childs. Now, it would be completely inappropriate for Alison to find her best friend’s date incredibly attractive, wouldn’t it?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Party

**Author's Note:**

> Eventual Soccercop and Cophine, have no fear.

“No person of sane mind gets married at this age.” Tony announced with a shrug of his shoulders, “Even you, Alison.”

Alison huffed at the young man lounging on the couch next to her, but she expected this kind of thing from him and from the rest of her group. When she’d agreed to a private engagement party at Cal’s cabin thrown by her friends Alison had opened herself up to all kinds of mocking.

Naturally, her parents had thrown her and Donnie their official engagement party and it had been a terribly boring affair. Even though she’d known her friends since high school her parents still didn’t approve of the group of misfits, so the guest list had been an exclusive one and had left Felix to decide that they would host their own- a clone club engagement party, one Donnie was not invited to.

The term ‘clone club’ had come years earlier when Alison, Sarah, Helena, Tony and Cosima had noticed subtle similarities between themselves. Felix had joked that in a past life they must all be clones and the term had stuck. Alison had hated it and still hated it to this day, but she allowed the joke to continue.

“I’m not getting married right this second, Tony. I still have a year or so to plan the wedding. You’re acting as though I’m signing my life away.”

Alison, twenty-two years old and soon to be wife, had met Donnie Hendrix when the two were fourteen. After two years of chasing her, Alison had finally given in and allowed Donnie to take her on a date. Her mother had been thrilled and had spent nearly every waking moment reminding her daughter that Donnie was perfect boyfriend material. Donnie’s family was successful and he was intending to study business. There was even talk that he’d take over his father’s company when Donnie was old enough. He had the rest of his life mapped out.

Stable, boring, future husband Donnie.

The perfect man to settle down with, Alison’s mother had said. Which was, of course, what Alison was expected to do. From an early age it had been a given that Alison would marry a nice boy and give her parents grandchildren. She’d have a stable home and a beautiful family. That was the dream she was fed.

Uptight, predictable, future soccer mom Alison.

It wasn’t that Alison hadn’t grown to love Donnie, she had. And she couldn’t wait for her wedding day. But she couldn’t stop the nagging feeling in the back of her mind that questioned if she was getting married because she wanted to or because it was expected of her. Donnie was a safe option, an easy choice but there was absolutely no spark in their relationship.

Which was why it felt good for Alison to be spending time with her friends away from the pressures of her home life. After Felix had decided they were going to throw their own party, Sarah had suggested they have it at Cal’s cabin and her loving boyfriend hadn’t had the heart to refuse. None of the group had expected things to work between Sarah and Cal, Sarah had gone through a large rebellious streak and Cal was an intelligent guy who seemed like he’d have nothing in common with the punk, but two years later the two were still together and Alison could tell it was love.

The couple were currently sitting in Cal’s armchair, Sarah in his lap, both holding beers. Felix was sitting on the floor with his on-again-off-again boyfriend Colin, while Alison was sitting next to Tony on the couch while Helena perched on the arm of the couch with a bowl of jello in her hands.

“I think it’s great that you’re getting married, Alison. Donnie sounds like a great guy.” Colin piped up with a smile, earning a snigger from Felix who rolled his eyes dramatically.

“You’re too nice for you own good, pretty boy.” Felix informed his boyfriend, but kissed his jaw anyway because Colin was far too cute to be mad at, in Felix’s opinion.

Alison took a sip of her wine and smiled tightly at Colin, “Thank you. It’s nice to know that somebody approves.”

“It’s not that we don’t approve,” Sarah grumbled, “We’re just looking out for ya. It’s our job as your best mates to take the piss.”

Helena lifted her head to eye the group and gestured with her spoon toward her empty bowl, “Sestra, there is a problem. Jello is gone.” She informed Sarah with a frown.

Sarah narrowed her eyes at her twin, “Should be more in the fridge.” She told her, then called into the kitchen as Helena stood up. “Make it last, there’s no more until we get home if you eat it all now, meathead!”

“Do not call me this.” Came Helena’s reply, causing the group to giggle softly and return to their earlier conversations.

\---

The group had arrived at the cabin at eight pm. It was nine thirty pm when the door was pushed open and a guilty looking Cosima hurried in.

“Sorry, sorry! I wasn’t ready, then we got lost finding this place… hella nice place, by the way, Cal!” She grinned.

Cal grinned back at the girl, but before he could reply she had launched into another explanation. “Like, I probably should have just agreed to ride up here with you guys but it seemed simple on the map! Anyway, you know me… always kinda late, always kinda-“

“Sorry, we know.” Alison finished, “Who is we?” She questioned.

“Oh, shit!” Cosima laughed quietly then hurried back outside, entering the cabin moments later with a bag tucked under her arm and a girl holding her free hand.

“Guys, this is Beth Childs. Beth, these are my friends.” She introduced with a wide grin on her face.

\---

It was eleven pm when Alison wandered into the kitchen to find out what was taking Cosima so long. The girl had offered to bring in more drinks after Beth had gotten up to grab a beer, but that was minutes ago and Alison had finished her fourth glass of wine.

“Cosima, what are you-“

Alison paused in the doorway, mouth slightly agape. Cosima was currently pressed against the counter, Beth against her, as the two continued kissing. It had started out as an innocent kiss as Beth had grabbed a beer then turned to smirk at her date, then somehow they had ended up with hands tangled in hair and under shirts, all alcohol forgotten.

“Shit, sorry!” Cosima flashed Alison a sheepish smile as she pulled back from Beth, suddenly remembering her reason for being in the kitchen. “I’m going!” She insisted, grabbing the drinks she had originally picked up.

As Cosima disappeared into the living room, Alison faced a smirking Beth and moved over to grab another bottle of wine. She, Felix and Colin had moved on to drinking red and the buzz was starting to take the effect.

“Listen. I’m sorry I crashed your party.” Beth said after a few moments of silence, taking a sip from her beer. “Cos mentioned it and she just seemed really excited when she asked me to come with her…”

“Cosima hadn’t mentioned it was serious between the two of you.”

Beth grinned slightly, “It isn’t… I mean, I guess so. We’ve only been together two months but she seems really cool.”

Alison hummed slightly at the answer, facing the girl that was dating one of her best friends. “She seems really cool?” She repeated sceptically.

“Well, y’know, I like her. Why else would we be making out in Cal’s kitchen?” Beth laughed.

Alison considered the answer and after a few moments she nodded, seeming to accept that Beth was genuine. “Yes. I suppose you’re right.”

Beth flashed Alison a confident smirk, “Congrats on the engagement, by the way. Your fiancé is lucky, I bet you’ll make a cute wife.”

Grabbing her beer, Beth swaggered back out toward the living room without another word and left Alison standing quietly in the kitchen.

_She thinks I’ll make a cute wife?_

That was kind of her.

_Wait, she thinks I’m cute?_

Surely Beth was just being nice. No doubt trying to make a good impression in front of one of Cosima’s friends. Yet, somehow Alison thought that perhaps Beth was being genuine. All evening the young woman had been smirking across at Alison every time she said something that Beth deemed amusing and she had answered all Alison’s questions with ease, not seeming to mind even when Cosima told Alison to quit it because “Beth’s the one who interrogates people, not you.”

Beth was going to be a cop. Beth liked running and had the most frustratingly confident smirk in the world.

Beth was Cosima’s girlfriend.

_Holy fishsticks._

Alison totally thought that Beth was cute too.


	2. Movie Night

**The engagement party. Cal’s cabin. 1:30am.**

_"That’s awesome! I’d never have the confidence to get up on stage, I’d probably fall off or something in the middle of a show!”_

_Beth and Alison were sitting at opposite ends of the couch facing each other, wine glasses resting on their legs. The rest of the group had all split off, all in various stages of intoxication. Cosima was outside with Felix, leisurely passing a joint between them. Cal and Sarah had gone to bed, while Tony and Helena were doing shots in the kitchen with Colin acting as judge._

_“You would have to be pretty careless to fall off the stage, Beth. Spatial awareness is very important in the theatre.”_

_Beth rolled her eyes and took another sip of wine, then grinned widely._

_“Alright then, what would be your dream show to perform in?”_

_“Les Miserables. I’d play Epionine.”_

_“And your dream role? Any role, play or musical.”_

_Admittedly, Beth knew nothing about theatre and even less about musicals but it was adorable how passionate Alison was while talking about her acting._

_Alison opened her mouth to speak then ducked her head, a blush forming on her cheeks._

_“You’ll laugh.” She insisted, sipping her wine._

_Beth hid her smirk and shook her head, “I won’t, I promise! Tell me.”_

_Alison glanced up and smiled slightly, “Alright… I think my dream role would be Sally Bowles from Cabaret… or maybe Lady Macbeth.”_

 

-

 

It was the week after the clone club engagement party that Alison found herself sitting in Felix’s loft, a glass of wine in her hands, listening to the group excitedly discuss Cosima’s new romance before the object of Cosima’s affections arrived.

The guest list for the movie night had originally been much smaller. In fact, the guest list had only compiled of two names. Felix and Alison. But then Colin had gotten the night off work and Felix hadn’t admitted it but Alison knew that he’d wanted to spend the night with his boyfriend, even with Alison there. So Colin had agreed to come, followed by Sarah’s insistence that she would come along too because Cal would be out of town for the weekend. And of course if Sarah was coming she couldn’t exactly leave out Helena. Then the group had felt bad for not inviting Cosima and Tony while everybody else would be there so they were told to come along too.

Somewhere over the course of the few days before the movie night Alison had learned that Cosima would be bringing her girlfriend.

“So, let me catch up.” Tony told the group, tilting his head as he took a swig of beer. “Science girl is out, cop girl is in, right?”

The group groaned collectively at the mention of _science girl_ but Cosima didn’t seem to mind all that much. She knew it came as a shock to the group when she’d suddenly started dating Beth after months of crushing on science girl, it had shocked her too, but she was willing to let things play out when it came to matters of the heart.

“Science girl was never in, Tony.” Cosima reminded him with a simple shrug.

Tony opened his mouth to speak but Sarah bumped his shoulder hard and shot him a glare that meant he ought to keep quiet. Instead, Tony busied himself with taking another swig of beer and Felix steered the conversation towards Beth’s abilities in the bedroom, hoping to cheer Cosima up.

Science girl.

Delphine Cormier. Tall, French, blonde, goddess.

Delphine was studying immunology at the same place Cosima studied Evo Devo and the two had been the best of friends ever since Cosima had checked up on her after seeing Delphine run out of the library in tears following the breakup with her boyfriend, Fredric.

Delphine was perfect but completely and utterly straight, which meant that Cosima had been forced to remain her friend even when she was sure that she could easily fall in love with the blonde given the chance.

For months Cosima had refused the offers to set her up with various girls and had politely let girls down gently the morning after the night before by insisting that she wasn’t ready for a relationship. She was, just not with them.

But then she’d met Beth and things had just taken off without her really expecting it. Beth was a breath of fresh air and whether they would work out long term or not Cosima didn’t know, but she was having a lot of fun.

Since the group were too busy giggling at Cosima’s tales of the bedroom to hear the door, Alison got up and answered it with a quiet huff. She smiled faintly as she came face to face with Cosima’s girlfriend, silently pleased Beth was here so that the talk of Cosima’s sex life would be stopped.

“Hi.” Alison greeted stiffly.

“Hey.” Beth flashed a grin and Alison was sure that she was sweating.

After standing there for a minute or so, Beth quirked an eyebrow and gave Alison a questioning look. “Am I supposed to watch the movie from out here or am I permitted to enter?” She teased.

“Oh. Yes, of course.” Alison nodded quickly and stepped aside, watching Beth walk in and immediately head over to greet her girlfriend.

Cosima pulled Beth down beside her and kissed her, earning a few mock groans from Sarah and Tony. “We were actually just talking about you.” Cosima laughed.

“All good things I hope?”

Felix smirked and stood up to collect the few DVDs he had to offer, “Oh, _very_ good. Don’t you worry.”

Cosima whispered to her girlfriend that she would explain later, then settled against Beth and turned her attention back to the group as votes for what film to watch were cast.

Felix, Alison and Colin suggested they watch a rom-com (Alison also suggested a number of musicals), but the rest of the room were insisting upon a horror movie. Cosima had wanted a sci-fi but a horror movie seemed the next best thing. So, ignoring Alison’s dramatic huff, the group settled in to watch _Sinister._

Beth and Cosima moved to sit on the floor, Beth’s back against the couch while Cosima settled herself between Beth’s legs with her head resting back on her girlfriend’s shoulder. Colin was sitting on Felix’s lap in one of the chairs while Sarah, Tony and Helena now occupied the couch. Alison brought her knees up to her chest and sunk back into her own chair, frowning.

Alison Hendrix was, by no means, weak or easily scared by horror movies. Something a lot of people didn’t know about her was that Alison actually liked the odd horror film. _Friday the 13 th, Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween._ Slasher movies did not make her jump, but psychological horror movies were her idea of a nightmare and through this it had led to the assumption that she was afraid when it came to any movie that didn’t contain Sandra Bullock.

Midway through the movie, Alison received a phone call and stepped out into the hall. Donnie was calling to ask how the movie night was going and it brought a brief smile to Alison’s lips. He could be sweet at times and he certainly wasn’t the worst guy in the world to marry. Yet at the same time Alison longed for the spark she saw in other relationships.

Donnie had never pinned her against the counter in the kitchen and kissed her breathless like Beth had done to Cosima. He’d never caused her heart to pound in her chest and her mind to be a constant battle between shyness and confidence.

“Is everything okay?”

Alison turned and blinked softly, she hadn’t even heard the door open and now Beth was standing in the hallway with her. Alison tucked her phone back into her pocket, quickly forgetting about the conversation she’d just had with Donnie and nodded slightly.

“Fine. Is there something you needed?”

It must have come out harsher than intended because Beth gave her a strange look then shrugged her shoulders.

“I just thought I would check how you were. Cos was saying you hate horror movies and you looked a little tense in there.”

Beth was sweet too and it appeared she did make Alison’s heart pound.

_Fishsticks. She’s Cosima’s girlfriend, you cannot think about her like this!_

“Cosima was right, this isn’t really my kind of movie. I don’t like films with ghosts and demons and such.”

Beth raised an eyebrow, “It’s not real, you know. I mean, they can’t actually hurt you.”

Alison fixed Beth with a glare. “Yes, thank you. I’m quite aware it isn’t real.”

Beth laughed softly and grinned widely again, then she leaned in and dropped her voice to a teasing whisper.

“Besides, if it was real I’d protect you. I’m a cop, remember?”

“In training.” Alison retorted with a smile, “An almost cop. Don’t get too cocky, Elizabeth.”

Beth realised, as Alison sauntered back into the loft to watch the rest of the movie, that Alison Hendrix was far more than she appeared. And it had been a big mistake to tell Alison her full name.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I could totally see Alison playing Lady Macbeth one day, perhaps in season 3 and Beth (not dead) could come to watch her.
> 
> Hope you're all enjoying thus far, all feedback is greatly appreciated! I decided to set up the Cophine prospect early on, but I promise Science Girl will make an actual appearance soon.


	3. Suggestion

_“You know what would be totally awesome?”_

_“Another joint?”_

_Cosima grinned widely at her girlfriend and idly leaned against the doorway in the kitchen, watching as Beth mixed pancake batter in blue pyjama shorts and a black lace bra._

_“Mhm. But after pancakes.” Cosima nodded eagerly, having insisted that 1am was absolutely not too late to make pancakes. Especially not after a joint._

_“Then, what?” Beth laughed, turning to face her girlfriend._

_Cosima sauntered into the room, claiming a quick kiss from Beth before she settled herself on top of the counter opposite the soon-to-be cop._

_“If we hosted a party here. Tomorrow night.”_

_Beth knew her girlfriend was spontaneous and Beth herself wasn’t exactly one to make clear and perfect plans but a party the following evening seemed a little bit last minute. Not to mention the apartment Cosima rented was tiny._

_“Hear me out, we can invite some of my friends and some of your friends. It’ll be a small gathering, I promise! Few drinks and some music, that’s all!”_

_Beth smirked faintly, “A small gathering, huh? You’re going to organise a small gathering?”_

_Cosmia merely flashed a cheeky grin and nodded, “We’re going to, Beth, and it’s gonna be awesome!”_

-

Cosima Niehaus had remained true to her word. (After Beth had filtered down the guest list.)

A small gathering had ensued at Cosima’s apartment the following evening and thus far it had remained in control, despite Felix’s protests that he needed a wild night to let his hair down.

While Cosima had invited a great deal of her friends, including two friends from college, Scott and Delphine, Beth had invited just two friends from work along, Art Bell and Angela DeAngelis. She’d insisted that the other few friends she’d planned to invite had been busy but Cosima had a feeling that Beth simply wasn’t ready to introduce her friends to her girlfriend yet.

The biggest surprise of the evening came in the form of Alison’s fiancée Donnie. When Cosima had called everyone to insist they came, she had strongly insisted that Alison bring Donnie along for the night and Alison had caved when Felix called her repeatedly throughout the day.

“Oh fuck. Have another shot, both of you, I can’t cope with the science talk.”

Felix tilted his head back and rolled his eyes dramatically, but bumped hips with Cosima and soon slung his arm around her waist anyway. The British man wasn’t sure how he’d ended up listening to Cosima and Delphine discuss science-y things but he certainly hadn’t understood a word they’d said. They spoke with a lot of passion, though, and Felix was used to the two of them talking science whenever Delphine came along to a gathering. He wasn't the blonde's biggest fan but he could smile politely whenever she was around.

“It’s totally fascinating stuff, Felix!” Cosima insisted, grinning widely as she rested her head on his shoulder.

“Oh yes, _totally_.” Delphine laughed softly, catching Cosima’s gaze immediately when the brunette recognised her teasing.

“Remember whose apartment this is, Cormier. Don’t think I won’t banish you!”

Felix chuckled softly at the bantering between the two and pressed a kiss to the side of Cosima’s face before detaching himself and wandering off to grab himself another glass of wine.

While Beth and Cosima had spent the majority of the first hour of the party together the two had wandered off to speak to different people for the rest of the night. Occasionally Beth would go over and spend a few minutes at Cosima’s side, or Cosima would grab Beth’s hand and insist they had to dance when her favourite song came on, but otherwise they were both content to mix with the guests separately.

“You’re a dipshit.”

Beth smirked smugly at Art and took a drink of her beer, standing by the counter in the kitchen with the two cops she’d grown to become close with. Beth had known Art for years and Angela for only a year and a half but the three of them seemed to get along well, Beth and Art especially.

“If I ever had to have you as my partner I think I’d probably join the criminals.” Art shot back, grinning.

“The criminals would be so blessed to have you, Bell.” Angela teased, turning to pour some more wine into her glass.

“And who invited you DeAngelis?”

While talking with her friends was entertaining Beth found her gaze wandering around the room. Sarah was standing with Helena and Cal, who fortunately was back for a couple of days and present to keep his girlfriend out of trouble. Cosima and her college friend were chatting animatedly but Beth’s eyes didn’t stop moving until she spotted Alison Hendrix. Alison was standing with her fiancée and Tony, looking increasingly stiff as it seemed to be Tony who was doing most of the talking.

“I’ll be back. Don’t hurt yourselves.” Beth announced smugly, then sauntered off across the room and soon joined Alison at her side.

“Detective!” Tony smirked, “I was just getting to know Donnie here, making sure he’s good enough for our Ali and all that.”

Donnie looked relatively uncomfortable and now that she was properly looking at the man Beth couldn’t quite understand the appeal, certainly not in looks. He and Alison didn't look like your average newly engaged couple, they were standing too far apart to be considered intimate and each time Donnie edged toward her Alison moved away. Beth didn't want to make any judgements but it looked as though the last thing Alison wanted was for Donnie to be there with her.

“I’m Beth Childs. Y’know, the one sleeping with Cosima.” Beth explained, trying to maintain a serious face as she stuck out a hand to the fiancée.

“Oh. You’re the lesbian.” Donnie recognised, earning a slap to the arm from Alison. “Donnie. It’s nice to meet you, Beth. Ali has told me a lot about you.”

Beth waggled her eyebrows at the woman beside her, “Have you? That’s interesting.”

“Hush Donnie.” Alison scolded, shaking her head. “Her name and the fact she is Cosima’s girlfriend is hardly a lot.”

Donnie looked as though he wanted to protest, but Tony seemed intent on continuing his line of interrogation so the matter was quickly dropped.

Beth, however, was not so easily swayed.

“So, you’ve been talking about me, huh? I guess I am pretty fascinating.”

“Try not to sound so flattered, Elizabeth."

There it was, there was that name again. Yet somehow coming from Alison it wasn’t so bad, in fact Beth found herself not minding so much anymore.

“Are you enjoying the party?”

“Not really.”

Beth laughed softly and took another sip of beer as she considered the woman next to her. She wasn’t sure how she managed to gravitate toward Alison so frequently but it just seemed to happen and Beth was beginning to find her the most fascinating out of all of Cosima’s friends.

“Ali! Beth can go with you!”

An arm snaked around Beth’s waist and Cosima’s voice brought Tony’s interrogation to a stop, something Donnie was eternally grateful for after Tony’s questions had become a little too personal for his liking.

“Ali has tickets for a soccer game Friday and, obviously, none of us like soccer but Beth can go. She used to play in high school.”

Beth chuckled quietly at her girlfriend’s enthusiasm but shook her head, noticing the sudden look of discomfort on Alison’s face.

“I doubt Alison wants to spend Friday night with me, Cos.” Beth pointed out, grinning.

“And I doubt Beth wants to spend Friday night with me, either, Cosima-“

“Guys! You both should totally go. It’ll be fun. And it saves me or Felix having to go, which we _really_ don’t wanna do. No offense, Alison.”

Beth caught Alison’s gaze and shrugged her shoulders. It seemed as though Cosima thought it would be a good idea and the last thing Beth wanted was for Cosima to think that she didn’t want to get to know any of her friends. Not after Cosima had listened to Angela talk about police work for twenty minutes.

"It doesn't matter, I didn't really want to go to the game anyway. Thank you for the thought though, Cosima."

Cosima glanced at her girlfriend and Beth felt obliged to insist. If she wanted to make things work with Cosima then she was going to have to push herself when it came to social interactions. Hopefully Alison wouldn't want to chat too much and Beth wouldn't have to spend the night deflecting lots of questions.

“Guess I could come along? If no one else wants to go…”

Alison smoothed a hand over her immaculate ponytail and smiled tightly, ignoring the interest on Tony’s face at her persistent refusal. She was no doubt going to be subjected to numerous questions when they were alone because while Tony appeared to be all jokes he had a serious side to him and was actually very perceptive.

“Yes, I suppose that wouldn’t be the worst thing to happen.”

Cosima grinned at the two, “See, you’re looking forward to it already!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Easter, readers!
> 
> The support from you guys is awesome and I'm really enjoying writing this, but I don't want anyone thinking this is going to be a fic that turns out with cheating or anything like that, this is supposed to be a cute fic that gets our favourites together in their proper couples. Don't panic! Geekcop is too adorable for me to ruin.
> 
> And I challenged myself here. (I'm British and only have a basic knowledge of our football, not soccer, but I'll try my best)


	4. The Game

_“I don’t want to go!”_

_Art frowned. All he’d heard all week was that Beth Childs under no circumstances wanted to go to the game on Friday. And now it was Friday lunch time, they were waiting in the line at Starbucks and Beth was still whining._

_“Beth, if you say one more word about this soccer game I’m going to shoot you.”_

_The questioning look from the woman in front sent Art into a quick succession of apologies and it just seemed to make things worse when he flashed his badge and explained that everything was fine because he was a police offer._

_“You don’t get it, dipshit! I’m going to have to spend ninety minutes with this woman, more if you count meeting up before the game and walking to the parking lot after it finishes!”_

_Art figured it would be inappropriate to shoot her there and then in the coffee shop but if he waited until they got in the car he could drive them to a secluded location._

_“Why is this such a problem, Childs? You seemed happy to talk to her at the party.”_

_Beth shot him a glare because that obviously was not the point and Art was not listening to her. Alison was lovely to talk to during a get together with Cosima’s friends but tonight Beth would be meeting her one-on-one and everybody knew that one to one was a much bigger deal._

_“Wait,” Art narrowed his eyes, “You don’t like this woman, do you Childs?”_

_Beth scoffed a little too quickly and Art raised his eyebrows accusingly. He’d known Beth for a long time and it was surprising that she still thought that she could hide things from him._

_“You think she’s hot, don’t you?”_

_“No, Art. I don’t think she’s hot, she’s my girlfriend’s best friend after all.”_

_Art nodded quickly, “I know, that’s what makes this whole situation so sick.”_

_Beth shoved him and glared, “It’s not sick, dipshit. You’re way off with this.”_

_-_

_“I don’t want to go.”_

_Felix sighed softly and raised an eyebrow at the woman currently pacing in front of his couch. All he’d wanted to do was get drunk and paint all afternoon and now his Friday was taken over by a ranting Alison Hendrix._

_“Darling, it’s just a soccer match. And it means a lot to Cos that you and Beth are bonding.”_

_“But I don’t want to bond, Felix! I don’t make Donnie bond with any of you!”_

_Alison huffed and sat down heavily beside him, bringing her knees up to her chest. She wanted Cosima to be happy and she seemed pleased that Beth was going. But it seemed like a recipe for disaster for Alison to be alone with the woman for too long._

_“Alison, I love you, but believe me, nothing would make me bond with Donnie.”_

_Alison didn’t blame her friend for not wanting to spend time with her fiancée, even she no longer looked forward to evenings alone with Donnie but it still didn’t mean that Beth should be going to the game with her._

_“Who plays bloody soccer on a Friday night, anyway? Do these people have no lives?”_

-

“Hello Beth, thank you for coming.”

Alison flashed her best attempt at a truthful smile as Beth approached. She was standing outside the grounds to the game and Beth was four minutes late. It was only when Beth got closer that a genuine smile appeared on Alison’s face as she realised what Beth was wearing.

Beth was sporting a Toronto FC cap and jersey with black jeans and Alison doubted she could have looked any hotter. She hadn’t really expected Beth to take the soccer game seriously as it was just two local teams playing but apparently Beth had made the effort. Alison herself was wearing a soccer jersey but only because Felix had insisted it would make her look cute.

“No problem, I’ve been looking forward to it.” Beth grinned.

Alison had no idea that Beth had been looking for as many excuses to get out of the evening as she had and just tried to make polite conversation as they made their way to their seats.

“I know some of the players. One of them is my friend Aynsley’s boyfriend only she didn’t want to come. She knows I like soccer so she got me tickets, I think she was trying to push Donnie and I into going together.”

Beth laughed quietly and sat down in her seat beside Alison, surprised to see that although the soccer grounds were small the seats were nearly all filled with excited fans. She’d never taken much interest in amateur soccer since she’d stopped playing but it was nice to be back in the stands after a few years.

“And you figured you would take a stranger to avoid a night out with him?” Beth asked.

Alison huffed quietly, “You’re hardly a stranger, _Elizabeth_. And it was Cosima’s idea, I didn’t want to disappoint her.”

Beth found it rather sweet that Alison wanted to please her friend so much. She would never agree to an evening with one of Art’s girlfriends but that was mostly because he was a dipshit and was usually owing her favours.

As the game began, the two women turned toward the pitch and despite telling herself that she wasn’t going to get invested Alison was quickly shouting at the players. Beth didn’t seem to mind though, as not long after she was shouting curses, mostly at the referee when she thought he’d missed something or made the wrong decision.

“Shoot, shoot! Fucking shoot!” Beth shouted, growling at the player who decided to pass the ball to another member of the team rather than trying for a goal.

“Elizabeth, language!” Alison scolded, narrowing her eyes at the woman beside her after she’d tried her best to let the few curses pass at first.

Beth rolled her eyes and ignored Alison, although the next few things she shouted included a few less curse words just for Alison’s benefit. Beth didn’t know why she wanted to please this woman but it seemed easier to just give in, especially when Alison gave her usual disapproving look.

-

It was seventy minutes into the game when Beth turned to look at Alison with a smug smirk on her face.

“You nearly said fuck.” She teased.

“No I didn’t.” Alison replied childishly, refusing to meet the eye of the woman beside her because she knew that Beth had caught her.

“You did. You nearly said it and you covered it up, I heard you Ali.”

Quickly, Alison turned and gave a confused look. “Ali?”

Embarrassed that the nickname had slipped out, Beth muttered a quiet “Shut up. You nearly said fuck” and turned back to watch the rest of the game.

-

Aynsley’s boyfriend’s team ultimately lost the match but that didn’t matter, Alison had enjoyed shouting along with Beth and the two left the soccer grounds with grins on their faces. Alison hadn’t expected the time to go so quickly but it felt as though they had only been out for half an hour, Beth was surprisingly easy to get along with. More so than many of Cosima’s other girlfriends.

“I actually had a pretty good night, Alison. Maybe Cos deserves a little credit.”

Alison smiled slightly, “Perhaps she does.”

The game had done nothing to dismiss Alison’s crush on Beth, if anything it had just solidified what she’d already been afraid of. Beth had been wonderful company and Alison had laughed more with her than she’d ever done with Donnie. But having a crush on Beth couldn’t matter because she was Cosima’s girlfriend and more importantly Alison was soon to be married.

“Cos is out with Delphine tonight, she said they had some research to look into but I think Cos will end up convincing her to smoke a joint and watch movies all night.”

Alison laughed softly and nodded, “Most likely. She can be quite convincing when she wants to be.”

Beth grinned at that and Alison didn’t want to know why, it seemed far safer not to ask. Just when Alison was starting to wonder why Beth had brought up Cosima’s whereabouts, Beth tilted her head.

“I just meant that I’m in no rush to get home. Do you want to get dinner or something?” She offered.

As it was Friday night Donnie would be out drinking until unreasonable hours in the morning and Alison hadn’t made plans passed the soccer game with Beth. While she thought that prolonging social interaction with Cosima’s girlfriend would be a bad idea, Alison really wanted to go.

“Do you know anywhere decent to have dinner?” Alison challenged.

Beth rolled her eyes at the woman walking beside her and shook her head. Normally, Beth hated it whenever somebody questioned her but when Alison did it she didn’t mind so much.

“Give me your phone number and I’ll text you the address so we can both drive there. You’ll soon be sorry you ever doubted me, you're gonna love this place."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to google soccer teams and watch a few Youtube videos but I made it through the chapter!
> 
> Hope you guys liked this chapter! (I really love writing Art/Beth scenes so I snuck another interaction in)


	5. Dinner Date

_“Hey babe.”_

_Since Beth felt it would be embarrassing to get pulled over by somebody like DeAngelis while driving on a Friday night, she put her phone on speaker and set it on the passenger seat beside her._

_“Hi! How was the soccer game? Were there lots of goals or whatever?”_

_Beth chuckled. One of the thing she liked best about Cosima was that she was always interested even when she had no knowledge of the subject. It was why Beth tried to listen as much as she could when Cosima went off on a science tangent._

_“Not as many as you would think, but it was fun. How is research going?”_

_Cosima laughed on the other end of the line and Beth could hear her footsteps, already assuming that not much studying was being done because Cosima was such a skilled procrastinator._

_“Awesome! Delphine and I are killing it, oh!” The slight crackling on the line meant that Cosima was moving again and Beth grinned, chancing a quick look into her mirror to make sure Alison’s car was still following._

_“Delphine, tell Beth that we totally got this research and you haven’t even let me have a joint yet.”_

_“Bonjour Beth! Cosima is right, the research is going well and I’ve insisted more work must be done before she can, uh, slack off?”_

_“You’re totally into American slang, I knew I would convert you!”_

_Sensing the two were enjoying themselves, Beth laughed lightly and drummed her fingers idly on the steering wheel._

_“Well I’m glad you two are having a good night, and hey Delphine! I was just calling to say that Alison and I are going to get some dinner, I managed to convince her to try a restaurant I like.”_

_Beth could hear Cosima snigger and suddenly her girlfriend’s voice was much closer so Cosima must have taken the call off of speaker. “You convinced Alison to eat at a none Alison approved restaurant? Did she have a joint?”_

_Beth chuckled quietly, “Nah, I just spun her the Child’s charm and she folded. She wouldn’t be the first.”_

_“Uh-huh? Bet she wouldn’t.” Cosima teased._

_“Listen, I’m nearly at the restaurant, Cos. I’ll call you in the morning?”_

_“Okay, talk to you soon. Tell Alison I say hi!”_

-

Beth allowed Alison to pick a booth near the back of the restaurant and immediately leaned back with a smirk, watching as Alison glanced around to inspect the place in what appeared to be the least subtle way possible.

“Admit it.” Beth smirked.

“Admit what?” Alison raised a hand to the side of her face, looking at Beth with a perfectly neutral expression.

Beth rolled her eyes at the woman in front of her, “Admit this is a nice place.”

Alison scoffed ever so slightly before reaching out to take the menu, “I haven’t tried the food yet, Elizabeth. We’ll see.”

Beth’s smirk didn’t let up as a waitress came over to take their drinks order. Alison ordered a strawberry milkshake while Beth ordered a diet coke, both deciding that alcohol would be a bad idea considering they had brought both their cars.

“So, engaged, huh? How’s that working out for you?” Beth asked thoughtfully.

The more time she spent with Beth the more Alison worried about her engagement. Was it normal to start crushing on your best friend’s girlfriend after recently getting engaged? Alison knew that nothing would ever happen between her and Beth but that didn’t make her feel any less guilty.

“Oh, it’s okay… my mother is eager to start planning things but I don’t want to rush. I want everything to be perfect for my wedding day.”

Beth nodded along, trying to act as though she understood what wedding preparation was like. She felt as though there would be some stage when she got excited about the prospect of weddings but at the moment the thought terrified her. In truth, getting married was the last thing Beth wanted to do. Being stuck with one person for the rest of your life seemed horrible. And to be so committed at such a young age seemed even worse.

“That’s understandable, it must be really exciting for you anyway, without having to rush into china patterns and all.”

Alison tilted her head slightly, “What about you Beth? Do you see yourself getting married some day?”

The waitress chose the best time to appear at the table with their drinks, Beth thought. She thanked the young girl and ordered a hamburger with fries, before Alison ordered the same and shot Beth a small smile as the waitress left.

“So?” Alison prompted, taking a sip of her milkshake.

Beth flashed a sheepish smile, “So?” She replied calmly.

Obviously Alison would want her to say that she looked forward to the thought of marriage and Beth honestly didn’t want to have to sit and explain why marriage was such a difficult concept for her. She had a good job and a wonderful girlfriend, some would say she was incredibly lucky.

“Maybe. I don’t really know. But like you said yourself, there isn’t any need to rush into anything.”

Alison took a few moments to study the woman sitting opposite her but she seemed to take the answer as she was soon back to scrutinizing the restaurant.

“How long have you known about this place?” Alison asked quietly, trying to keep the conversation a little lighter for the moment.

The small restaurant with the good food had actually been introduced to Beth by Art a couple of months ago. He’d taken the result of a difficult case pretty hard and Beth had insisted he talk to her, so he’d driven them out to get some food and had proceeded to tell her about what was bothering him.

It was never easy getting Art to open up about his feelings but for some strange reason Beth was able to get through to him, most of the time.

“Not long, but long enough to know it was good enough for you.” She grinned.

Alison huffed lightly, wondering why everyone acted as though she had the highest of standards. “And how do you know what’s good enough for me and what isn’t, hm?” She challenged.

Beth was used to flirting with attractive women. However, now that she was with Cosima she tried very hard to keep herself in check, though all her efforts appeared lost when it came to Alison Hendrix so Beth took a moment to compose herself to avoid saying anything suggestive. Making Cosima’s friend uncomfortable would not be a good idea.

“I’m a cop, I can read people.” Beth replied with a shrug and Alison seemed to accept it.

The two fell into casual conversation soon after and talk continued even as their food arrived. Despite the confident personality Beth presented to everyone, Alison noticed that during their dinner the cop seemed content to listen rather than speak about herself. While Beth would answer her questions but she always seemed quick to change the subject back to Alison, as though revealing too much about herself would be somehow damaging.

Alison wasn’t used to being left to talk about herself. Naturally, Alison knew she had a tendency to babble and talk a lot, but when she spoke to Donnie or to her mother the conversation usually revolved around them. Donnie’s work schedule, her mother’s plans for the evening. And even around her friends at clone club she never really spoke much about her actual feelings towards things, perhaps to Felix but only because he was her best friend.

Beth seemed interested and prompted with questions, as though she was actually listening when Alison talked. And the more Alison talked, the easier it was to see Beth as somebody other than just Cosima’s girlfriend.

In fact, Beth was wonderful.

“Can I ask you something?” Alison asked, idly toying with her straw as she looked across at Beth.

Beth nodded, still eating the last of her fries but was careful to keep her attention on Alison. The cop was good at that, Alison decided, keeping her attention focused while doing something else.

“When did you first realise that you liked girls?”

The embarrassed look on Alison’s face caused Beth to laugh, it was as though Alison thought the question had never come up before. Despite it being a popular topic of conversation whenever somebody learned that Beth was bisexual.

“Uh, I was about fourteen. A girl moved in next door, she was my age and her brother was a few years older. He was an attractive guy, played basketball in high school, and one day I noticed that I would rather date her than her big brother. It sort of just became normal after that, finding some girls hotter, wanting to date certain girls over certain guys.”

Alison nodded gently. If she were being honest, Alison had gone through a little of that herself. She’d never really acted on it, she’d just considered her feelings to be simple crushes that would go away, but a few girls immediately came to mind while Beth was talking.

“And when did you have your first girlfriend?”

Beth tilted her head and took a sip of her coke. She did wonder why Alison even cared about all of this but the other girl did seem to want to know. Alison always seemed so thoughtful and it made Beth want to tell her things she wouldn’t tell others.

“First girlfriend… seventeen. Her name was Mia. I’d kissed a few girls before that but she was my first serious relationship with a girl.”

“And did you love her?”

Beth looked up and flashed Alison a faint grin, although it didn’t look quite as real as others Beth had given. The cop shrugged her shoulders and quickly drank the rest of her coke, as though stalling time would make answering either.

“Nah, I don’t think I did. My last boyfriend, I fell for him pretty hard, but Mia was a learning curve, y’know? Anyway, don’t think I’m letting you off Ali, any girl crushes you want to own up to?”

Alison looked away as the question was posed and tried to think of anything other than how sweet Beth Childs was whilst still being the most maddening person Alison had ever met.

She perhaps had a little, tiny crush on Beth but that wasn’t anything that needed to be voiced. Crushes always went away, it was the rule. So all Alison had to do was wait it out, throw herself into wedding preparations. And that was exactly what Alison was going to do, she resolved, she was going to keep her distance from Beth Childs until her silly crush went away.

“Not at all. Donnie and I have been together since we were young and I’ve never found any need to look elsewhere.”

As Alison was looking anywhere but at Beth, she failed to see the flicker of disappointment that appeared momentarily on the cop's face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finding time to write has been pretty difficult lately as I was finishing my first year at Uni, but now I'm done for the summer and the muse has seemingly returned.
> 
> Stay tuned for the next chapter, it should be up in a few days as I already know what's going to happen!


	6. Making Crazy Science

**Cosima’s Apartment. Friday night (the night of the soccer game). 11pm.**

_“Cosima, I can’t stop thinking about that kiss.”_

_Delphine hadn’t even looked at her when she’d said it, just kept her focus on the movie. And if Delphine hadn’t insisted she wait to smoke a joint then Cosima wouldn’t have been sure she’d heard correctly._

_“Like, not in a bad way?”_

-

“Cos, it’s Delphine. Again. Do you want me to answer it?”

Beth stared at Cosima’s phone as it rang and considered just answering it anyway. Delphine had been calling all week and for some reason Cosima was ignoring her, but Beth was sure that whatever had happened could be worked out if her girlfriend stopped being so stubborn.

“No, no! Ignore it!”

Cosima hurried into the living room and quickly grabbed the phone out of Beth’s hands. She pressed the screen to ignore the call then tossed her phone carelessly on the couch, having decided that it was far harder to ignore Delphine when Delphine wouldn’t stop calling.

“Are you ever going to explain what happened with you two?”

Beth eyed her girlfriend suspiciously, having noticed that Cosima looked considerably tense ever since the two had spent last Friday together. But Delphine seemed like a lovely woman and if Cosima was holding a grudge over something science related Beth would be forced to turn into bad cop.

“I don’t know what you mean, nothing happened.” Cosima shrugged.

“I’m a cop, Cos. You’re gonna have to do better than that.”

It worried her to see Cosima looking so conflicted and Beth deduced that whatever happened must be serious. Especially if Cosima had avoided telling her for a whole week. Normally Cosima wore her heart on her sleeve and never kept secrets, even about small things she didn’t think Beth would care about.

“Cos, talk to me, okay? Something happened and it has obviously upset you.”

Beth took a seat on the couch and held out her hands to her girlfriend. A small smile crept onto her face as Cosima allowed herself to be guided down next to Beth but the scientist did not start talking right away. Beth leaned back against the couch and remained patient, allowing Cosima to explain things in her own time.

“Okay, so like, don’t freak out. Before I met you, I really liked Delphine. Like, really liked her.” Cosima started and Beth stayed silent to listen.

“One night I kissed her. But she got all weird about it and left, never mentioned it again except to tell me that it shouldn’t have happened. So for a long while I was pretty upset, then I met you and things have been going really well with us… but last Friday, Delphine said that she’d been thinking about the kiss. That she liked me too.”

Cosima looked so guilty and confused as she focused her gaze on Beth’s, trying to read the cop’s expression.

“And I hadn’t thought about it in a long time because I thought it would never happen. But now I know it could happen I’m sorta… I don’t know, I still really like her.”

Beth wore a patient expression and Cosima didn’t know how she could look so understanding. Without having even done anything wrong Cosima had felt terrible all week, as though she’d betrayed Beth the moment Delphine had mentioned the kiss and Beth deserved far better than that.

“I don’t know what to do,” Cosima admitted quietly, “Because I don’t want to ruin things between us but Delphine… I never thought there was any chance she would ever think of me that way.”

Beth watched her girlfriend carefully and gave a slight nod to show she was following Cosima’s train of thought. It was incredibly difficult to listen to her girlfriend have these conflicted ideas but strangely Beth felt no anger towards any of it. Cosima had never set out to hurt anyone and Beth wanted the very best for her.

“Cos, you’re never going to ruin things with us, we’re always going to be fine.” Beth stated slowly, giving the scientist a light smile because she hated it whenever Cosima looked to be upset.

“I want you to be happy and if that means you go and try things with Delphine, that’s okay. Because you talked to me about it and I really respect that.”

Beth shook her head slightly and reached out to grab Cosima’s hand, giving a light squeeze as she looked over at the scientist sitting next to her. Cosima really was one of the best people Beth knew and she didn’t intend to let this change anything. While the break up would hurt and Beth was fully accepting of that, it wasn’t as though she hadn’t had break ups before. She would get over it. Absolutely.

Cosima leaned forward and brought Beth into a tight hug, unable to really explain how relieved she was that Beth didn’t hate her. She cared a lot for Beth but her heart was telling her that she needed to give things with Delphine a chance.

“We’re okay, right?” The scientist asked quietly.

Beth hugged her tighter and nodded gently, “We’re okay, Cos.”

-

Ever since dinner with the cop had ended, Alison had been doing beautifully at ignoring Beth Childs. She had ignored any sarcastic texts Beth had sent and had even turned off her phone when Beth had tried to call the previous evening.

As long as she didn’t see or talk to Beth until her silly crush was gone then everything would be perfect. And Alison Hendrix settled for nothing less than perfection. Which was why she was filling up her time being productive.

“Yes Donnie, six o’clock. Yes… I- you too.”

Alison cut him off and ended the call before her fiancée could say anything else, as he’d already taken up ten minutes of her time by confirming and double confirming their plans for the evening. He always got nervous when it came to dinner with Aynsley and Chad and for once Alison couldn’t really blame him.

She tucked her phone away and headed back into Felix’s loft, where the artist was standing in the kitchen with a mug of wine. Standing with him were Tony and Sarah, the three of them chatting even as Alison re-joined the conversation.

“I called this morning and she didn’t pick up. I vote that she spent the night.”

Felix had a look of satisfaction on his face that Alison knew could never mean anything innocent and as she’d missed the start of the conversation she was intrigued to find out who the trio were discussing.

“She wouldn’t have spent the night there, Fee. It’s been what, two days? Cos isn’t that cruel.”

Sarah’s words immediately had Alison’s attention and if she hadn’t understood before Cosima was mentioned she certainly didn’t understand now.

“Sorry, what is going on?” Alison asked, glancing between the three.

Tony shrugged slightly and leaned his elbows back on the counter, having attempted to do the right thing and stay out of the discussion before they heard from Cos.

“Science girl told Cos she liked her… Cos told Beth and they broke up… then Cos went over to Delphine’s apartment last night to talk things through and nobody has heard from her since.”

Alison took a few moments to process Tony’s explanation, but her silence must have lasted for too long because soon Felix and Sarah were back to chatting and speculating. It was hardly a secret that Cosima had been smitten with Delphine but Alison had just assumed that the two would never act on anything, it had seemed a likely conclusion when Cosima had started dating Beth too.

_Beth… fishsticks._

Beth had tried to call her the previous evening and Alison had ignored her. Alison knew the two weren’t best friends but the idea of Beth calling to talk to Alison about her break up left Alison feeling extremely guilty.

“Excuse me.” Alison murmured half-heartedly, before heading back to the landing outside the loft.

She didn’t have any subject in mind when she started to call Beth Childs, all Alison knew was that Beth was single and had called her and that it either made all the sense in the world or no sense at all.

“Officer Childs.”

_Of course. It was the middle of the day. Of course Beth would be at work._

“Oh hi Beth… um… sorry, you’re at work. Shall I call back later?”

Alison felt all nervous and unsure the second she heard Beth’s voice, qualities that she didn’t often possess. For some reason Beth Childs made her feel all strange and it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

“Nah, it’s alright, I can talk. What’s up?”

Beth didn’t sound depressed and heartbroken over the break up. Perhaps Alison had been too hasty to call. Perhaps last night Beth had just called the wrong person.

“Um… I just wanted to get back to you. You called me last night and I didn’t answer, I was busy with wedding preparations.”

Alison's wedding was the exact reason Beth hadn't called a second time. The break up with Cosima was still fresh and she'd known while she'd been waiting for Alison to answer that it had been a mistake. Alison didn't need to listen to her thoughts on the end of her relationship and more importantly Beth had no reason to interact with Alison anymore.

“Oh right yeah… sorry about that.” Beth answered sheepishly and Alison could hear the slight break in Beth’s cheerful demeanour.

“It was nothing important, I probably shouldn’t have even called you. It doesn’t matter.”

_Fishsticks. Fishsticks. Fishsticks._

“Beth. I heard about you and Cosima.”

There was a pause on Beth’s side of the line and Alison sunk down on the top step, suddenly not too sure what she was doing outside on a landing trying to comfort her best friend’s ex girlfriend.

“Oh right, yeah, of course you did… well we’re still going to keep in contact and all that, no hard feelings.”

Beth had given her the perfect opportunity to simply say “Okay. Have a nice day” and continue with her life, but despite her better judgement Alison couldn’t do that. She couldn’t end whatever kind of connection she was developing with the cop. If there were no hard feelings between Cosima and Beth then Alison had every right to be friends with them both.

“Would you like to go for a drink tonight?”

The offer surprised Beth and she quickly had to hide the smile on her face because Art kept looking at her in that stupid smug way.

“Uh, sure… I get off work at 8, is that okay?”

“Mhm, that’s fine. I’ll text you later.”

Alison ended the call and sighed softly, hoping she could get through an evening with Donnie and their friends in under two hours.

 _I’m doing the right thing._ Alison told herself as she stood. _It’s just a few drinks, just to see how Beth is doing. I’m not doing anything wrong._

Cosima’s voice could be heard from Felix’s phone as Alison entered the loft and suddenly her arrangement to see Beth didn’t feel so clean cut.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been writing this chapter for what feels like years and I'm really not too sure how I feel about it, but it was driving me crazy so here it is uploaded.
> 
> So, Beth is single and the crazy science duo have a chance to be together... but Alison is still pretty engaged. Uh-oh.
> 
> Thanks for keeping up with this guys, hope you're enjoying it!


End file.
